Thursday, July 10, 2008

MOS Burger (Central World)

When MOS Burger opened in Bangkok several years ago. There was a frenzy in town. I could not believe the queues in front of the MOS Burger restaurant. You actually had to wait 20 minutes just to order your burger and I have no idea how long you had to wait to get your burger. I refused to join the mass hysteria when this famous burger restaurant chain from Japan opened in Bangkok. I knew sooner or later, things would calm down. Well, it slightly did. There was still a queue when I went to MOS but I only waited 5 minutes. Not bad!

MOS is an acronym for "Mountain, Ocean & Sun." An expression of MOS's love for people and nature. Their goal is to "make people happy through meals." MOS has incorporated Japanese culinary culture into their products, such as Teriyaki Burger, MOS Rice Burger, Pork Cutlet Burger or Shrimp Cutlet Burger. Their philosophy is 'Always Fresh', so they makes all their hamburgers fresh on premise, the breads are freshly baked and their fries are freshly made as well. The closest fast hamburger restaurant that compares to MOS is the 'In & Out Burgers' chain in California.

Here is how it works. You stand in the queue, then you order your burger (either a combo set or individual orders), you pay, you get a number and then you find a seat, sit down and wait for the waitress to bring you your burger.

MOS has an assembly line of MOS burger makers. Each person is responsible for one single job, either putting the burger on bun, to putting sauces on the burger, to putting lettuce on the burger or to wrapping the burger, etc. Once the burger is ready, it is put in front of the window for the waitress to bring to your table.

I ordered the combo C; it comes with a cheese burger, french fries and a coke. This has got to be the messiest hamburger on earth. It comes with their famous sauce. It oozes and drips the moment you pick the burger up. It is quite a challenge to eat the burger without getting your fingers and hands soaked in the MOS sauce. The burger is good, the quality of the raw materials are good. My only problem is that the burger is very small (Japanese size???). I can also say I have had better hamburgers; but the MOS burger is not that bad. The french fries were the way I like them; hot, crispy outside, soft inside and slightly salted.

I was still hungry so I ordered a Chicken Tsukune Rice Burger. A fresh chicken patty on rice instead of bread. I have no idea how they keep the rice glued together and shaped like hamburger bun. I can say that the chicken burger was good. Not fantastic. I felt like having chopsticks to eat this burger. The sauce for this burger made the rice taste better or otherwise it was pretty plain tasting.

Overall, MOS is still a very popular place to get a Japanese burger. The prices are acceptable and the quality of the food is very good. I think the original burgers are better than the other offerings on the menu; however, that should not stop you from being adventurous and try the other type of burgers. I will. You will never know what you like until you try.